Top experts attend forum to fight human trafficking

A number of international experts, leaders and officials from various ministries and institutions in Qatar came together in Doha yesterday to discuss ways to prevent and fight human trafficking. The event, dubbed as ‘Combatting Human Trafficking Forum’ and hosted by Qatar Airways, also reviewed the initiatives done by Qatar in this regard.
“Qatar Airways is exceptionally proud to be the first Middle Eastern airline to bring this forum to the region,” Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar al-Baker said.
He stressed that the staging of the forum was timely and meaningful as member airlines at the 74th International Aviation Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting earlier this year unanimously approved a resolution denouncing human trafficking and vowed to implement a number of key anti-trafficking initiatives.
“As chairman of the IATA Board of Governors, I am pleased to be able to give my advocacy and support to this vital resolution,” al-Baker added.
“As a member airline, we are committed to raising awareness about human trafficking across our country and the world, to train our staff on every aircraft and in every office around the globe,” he stressed. “We are in the business of freedom, and we will not allow this crime to fly under the radar.”
The ‘plague of human trafficking’, according to al-Baker, affects more than 25mn people annually, a number roughly equivalent to the population of Australia. Qatar’s Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (MADLSA) and head of the National Committee for Combatting Human Trafficking, HE Dr Issa Saad al-Jafali al-Nuaimi, addressed the participants about Qatar’s initiatives to combat human trafficking.
IATA and the Airports Council International have launched a human trafficking awareness campaign earlier dubbed as ‘#eyesopen’, urging airline staff and travellers to have their ‘eyes open’ to the issue.
The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime also started its ‘Blue Heart Campaign’ in 2009 while the International Civil Aviation Organisation produced resources for cabin crews aimed at raising global awareness to fight human trafficking and its impact on society.
The forum saw Airline Ambassadors International (AAI) board member, Pastor Donna Hubbard, who is a survivor of human trafficking, highlighting their programmes and the importance of aviation sector’s role in combating such crime.
She noted that some 40.3mn victims worldwide are being enslaved by human trafficking, an illegal act second to drug trafficking.
The event was also attended by the Chairman of Labour Sector at MADLSA  and Secretary-General of the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking Mohamed Hassan al-Obaidly; Qatar Civil Aviation Authority chairman Abdulla N Turki al-Subaey; Ministry of Interior’s (MoI) Airport Security Department director, Brigadier Essa Arar al-Rumaihi; MoI’s Airport Passports Department director, Colonel Mohamed Rashid al-Mazroui.
The airline also brought representatives from key international partner organisations to share valuable information and inspiration with forum delegates. These included IATA External Affairs assistant director Tim Colehan; United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights adviser on human trafficking, Youla Haddadin; and United Nations International Civil Aviation Organisation technical officer Martin Maurino.